Fig 3- - uploaded by Chiraz Masmoudi Charfi
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Drawings of the root system of young olive trees of cultivar Chétoui aged one to six years. Roots were counted on the internal trench wall, down to 1.0-1.2 m depth depending on age.
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The study was carried out to have a comprehensive view of the root system behavior of young olive trees cultivated under field conditions. The experiment involved irrigated trees (Olea europaea L., cv., Chétoui) cultivated at 6×6 m2 spacing in Mornag (36.5°N, 10.2°E), northern Tunisia. The way in which roots explore the soil volume during the first...
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Context 1
... profiles for the tagged trees show two or three types of roots according to age (Fig. 3). During the first years after planting, trees developed fine roots in the upper 0.2 m of the soil layer, which then extended cm from the emitters and on the right at the limit of the canopy during the 2003 campaign. ...
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Citations
... Soil samples (three replicates per orchard and per variety) were collected using a stainless-steel corer: the uppermost layer of dirt (approx. 10 cm) was discarded and then a 20 cm core was retrieved to collect a portion of soil where the roots are at the densest [39,40]. Of this, the top and bottom 5 cm were also discarded to remove possible contaminants from the handling of the sample and coring. ...
To fight counterfeits, and to protect the consumer, the interest in certifying the origin of agricultural goods has been growing in recent years. In this context and to increase the accuracy of zoning models, multiple analytical techniques must be combined via a multivariate approach. During the sampling campaign, leaves and fruits (olives or drupes) were collected from multiple orchards and farms. By means of HPLC-DAD, metabolite levels were evaluated and combined with the trace and ultra-trace metal/metalloid levels evaluated by ICP-MS (QqQ). The combined dataset was then used to develop a model for geographical traceability. Furthermore, the mineral content of the soil, evaluated by means of ICP-MS, was correlated with both the mineral content in the leaves and drupes and the metabolomic profiles to further investigate the connection between the orchard’s location and characteristics of the final products.
... Although the absence of facilitation is an unexpected result, the absence of competition between the intercropped species is promising. This result indicates there is a small niche overlap between the involved species, which might be due to differences in root depths among olives and aromatic plants (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011;Nishida 2011), resulting in low competition for water or nutrients. Then, while intercropping small aromatic plants with olive trees may not provide positive effects on the olive tree's productivity, it does not appear to impair their performance either. ...
Plants interact in positive ways, facilitating each other. We can use this facilitative effect in agriculture by intercropping crop plants with aromatic plants that provide benefits such as the repulsion of pests, resulting in a reduction of agrochemical inputs and higher crop productivity. Considering this potential benefit, we conducted a study in an olive grove to test the effect of the aromatic plants basil (Ocimum basilicum) and rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) on olive (Olea europaea) production. We planted six aromatic saplings under olive trees (20 trees with basil and 20 with rosemary) and selected 20 olive trees with no aromatic plants as a control group. To estimate the productivity of olive trees, we measured the number of inflorescences per tree, the number of fruits, and the average fruit weight. After nine months, we did not find a significant difference in the productivity of olive trees intercropped with aromatic plants compared to olives without the association. However, basil and rosemary had low mortality rates and showed substantial growth. Consequently, while probably not increasing olive production, the absence of negative effects on olive productivity indicates that intercropping aromatic plants and olives is viable and might provide diversification and economic resilience to small farmers.
Keywords:
basil (Ocimum basilicum); facilitation; olive (Olea europaea); plant-plant interaction; rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
... Depending on the edaphoclimatic conditions, rooted cuttings can be transplanted in pots and moved outside the greenhouse or can be set directly in the orchard; either way, the success of the process depends on the plant's ability to develop a strong and resilient root apparatus (Fabbri et al., 2004). As reported by Masmoudi Charfi et al. (2011), crucial factors such as water content and soil texture, can favor the root development of newly repotted plants. However, an improved and resilient root apparatus has been favored by the employment of microbial inoculants with plant growth promoting (PGP) compounds (Estaùn et al., 2003). ...
... Root diameter was negatively related to RLD. Root diameter was higher under the synthetic mulching than along the row managed by hoeing (the difference was significant in November 2020, Figure 8 [47,48]. The closer winter and the cold season are, the greater the investment of trees in secondary root growth with an increase in root diameter [49]. ...
Two different in-row soil management techniques were compared in the Olive Orchard Innovation Long-term experiment of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit, and Citrus Crops in Rome, Italy. Rows were managed with an in-row rotary tiller and with synthetic mulching using permeable polypropylene placed after cultivar Maurino olive trees planting. The effects of the two treatments were assessed through weed soil coverage and the growth of the olive trees. Results showed better agronomic performance associated with synthetic mulching. The weed control effect along the row of a young high-density olive orchard was higher with the synthetic mulching compared to hoeing. The effect of the synthetic mulching seemed to disappear when removed from the ground (spring 2023) since no significant differences were found for tree size and yield in the two tested in-row soil management systems at the end of 2023. Finally, the growth of the young olive trees (Trunk Cross Sectional Area, Height, and Canopy expansion) measured across the three years, was higher for the synthetic mulched row than the hoed one. The use of synthetic mulching along the row positively forced the vegetative growth of the young olive trees and anticipated the onset of fruit production compared to periodical hoeing: a significantly higher fruit production was registered three years after planting. Root diameter was higher under synthetic mulching one year after planting, and no differences were observed in the following sampling dates showing similar fluctuations linked to the seasonal growth pattern. The life cycle assessment and costing highlighted that the application of mulching had a higher eco- and economic-efficiency than the periodical in-row soil hoeing.
... In this study, the lower erosion rates obtained in almost all the core samples from the olive tree cultivation indicate its conservative impact on soil erosion. The olive tree doubles the consolidation of the soil (Reubens et al. 2007;Masmoudi-Charfi et al. 2011) with deep ancient roots (Karydas et al.2009), as well as its branches and leaves that cover a large part of the ground during rainy periods, minimizing the kinetic force of raindrops and the splash effect on soil aggregates (Wang et al.2023). In contrast, the highest values of soil loss obtained for the cereal crop site are essentially due to the low vegetation cover, which makes the soil more exposed to water erosion agents, especially runoff and precipitation (Ruiz-Colmenero et al. 2013). ...
Soil erosion caused by rain and runoff is a global issue that keeps getting worse over time. Damage caused by this phenomenon includes accelerated silting of dams. Considering that the storage capacity of major hydraulic structures gradually degrades owing to cumulative sedimentation, Tunisia faces severe environmental threats due to the annual decrease in reservoir capacity. Plant cover and land use are the most significant factors influencing the severity of soil erosion. In this vein, this study investigated the effect of soil cover on erosion at two agricultural sites in the El Kbir watershed, north Tunisia, using the cesium-137 (Cs-137) radioisotope tracer method. This radioactive element has been successfully used for investigating rates and patterns of soil erosion. The cesium-137 inventory obtained for the reference site is about 1341 Bq m −2. For study plots cultivated with olive trees and cereal crops, Cs-137 inventories are about 1036.37 Bq m −2 and 426.82 Bq m −2 , respectively. The results show that the net erosion rate estimated by the mass balance model 2 (MBM2) was significantly higher in the cereal cultivated plot with 28.95 t ha −1 year −1 than in the olive cultivated plot with 7.16 t ha −1 year −1. The difference in net erosion rates between the two fields reveals the crucial role of the soil cover, as olive trees showed better resistance to erosive effects because of their system of roots. In contrast, culture of cereal crops, which occupy around 50% of the total area in the region, does not effectively protect and maintain the soil against erosion, which in turn induces intensive erosion of soil, resulting in sedimentation in dams. Soil erosion can therefore be reduced by adapting land use and increasing adequate vegetation cover.
... Las raíces de los olivos se distribuyen fundamentalmente bajo la copa del árbol [17] y las densidades de raíces más altas se encuentran en los primeros 60 cm del suelo con el máximo en los horizontes superiores, preferiblemente dentro de los primeros 40 cm [17]. En la zona de raíces del olivo hay numerosos poros -muchos de ellos macroporos (bioporos)-que son los que utilizan las mismas para atravesar la zona del suelo por su menor resistencia mecánica [18]. ...
... Las raíces de los olivos se distribuyen fundamentalmente bajo la copa del árbol [17] y las densidades de raíces más altas se encuentran en los primeros 60 cm del suelo con el máximo en los horizontes superiores, preferiblemente dentro de los primeros 40 cm [17]. En la zona de raíces del olivo hay numerosos poros -muchos de ellos macroporos (bioporos)-que son los que utilizan las mismas para atravesar la zona del suelo por su menor resistencia mecánica [18]. ...
... La aparición de rutas preferentes se debe principalmente a dos procesos. El primero es que, durante períodos de déficit de agua, aumenta la mortalidad de las raíces finas, incluso en los olivos irrigados [17]. Estas raíces muertas forman bioporos conectados al resto de las raíces del olivo a través de los cuales el agua puede circular. ...
En las regiones semiáridas, los períodos de sequía representan uno de los mayores desafíos para la agricultura. El Hidroinfiltrador o Dispositivo Infiltrador (DI) (Patente Española No. ES 2793448 A1) ayuda a reestablecer el equilibrio hídrico de los suelos. El DI tiene forma cilíndrica que permite su colocación vertical, enterrado parcialmente en el suelo alrededor de los árboles de cultivo, facilitando así la infiltración profunda de agua de lluvia, riego o escorrentía. Es especialmente útil en zonas áridas y semiáridas afectadas por largos períodos de sequía y fuertes tormentas. En una finca experimental de olivar ubicada en Baena (Córdoba), se instalaron 90 DI en olivos, dejando 10 árboles como control (sin DI). Los suelos de esta finca presentan una baja tasa de infiltración, lo cual reduce la eficacia de la precipitación y aumenta significativamente el riesgo de erosión hídrica. Para analizar los efectos del DI, se simuló una lluvia torrencial en la que se pasaron 600 litros de agua a través del DI instalado en un olivo 3 años antes del experimento. Mediante el método geofísico de Tomografía Eléctrica de Resistividad (ERT en sus siglas en inglés) y análisis directos de muestras de suelo tanto in situ como en laboratorio, se observó un considerable aumento de la humedad del suelo donde había DI. En comparación con los olivos control (sin DI), la humedad casi se triplicó gracias a la rápida penetración del agua en el suelo, evitando así la escorrentía y la erosión hídrica. Además, se registró un incremento del 211% en la producción de aceitunas y un aumento del 177% en el rendimiento graso. Los perfiles ERT mostraron que el agua que penetra en el suelo se acumula en la zona de raíces del olivo, alejada de la superficie, favorecida su distribución por las rutas preferentes creadas por las raíces. Esto evita una evaporación rápida durante las altas temperaturas de primavera y verano. En este estudio, se muestra cómo el uso del sistema de recolección de agua de lluvia con DI representa una mejora significativa en la gestión de los escasos recursos hídricos provocados por el cambio climático. Además, proporciona beneficios agronómicos y ambientales para los sistemas agrícolas mediterráneos de secano.
... The roots of olive trees are adapted to the Mediterranean climate and tend to distribute themselves in the shallow part of the soil to make better use of the scarce and at times, torrential rainfall, and nutrients derived from the decomposition by microorganisms of the plant debris (twigs and leaves) that fall on the surface (Deng et al., 2017). The highest root densities are in the first 60 cm of the soil with the majority in the top layers, usually within the first 40 cm (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011;Deng et al., 2017). In the distribution of the different levels of the olive tree roots, Sorgonà et al. (2018) found a maximum between 45 and 60 cm for the roots of the first order, another between 30 and 45 cm for those of the second order, while those of the third order were very close to the surface of the soil (0-15 cm). ...
... In the distribution of the different levels of the olive tree roots, Sorgonà et al. (2018) found a maximum between 45 and 60 cm for the roots of the first order, another between 30 and 45 cm for those of the second order, while those of the third order were very close to the surface of the soil (0-15 cm). Most of the roots of the olive tree are located under the tree crown (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011), as the olive tree establishes a balance between the roots and the crown. The further we move away from the canopy area, the lower the root density becomes. ...
... The emergence of preferential pathways is mainly due to two processes. The first is that during periods of water deficit, the mortality of fine roots increases, even in irrigated olive trees (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011). These dead roots form biopores connected to the rest of the olive tree's roots through which water can circulate. ...
Dry periods in semi-arid regions constitute one of the greatest hazardous features that agriculture faces. This study investigates the effects of using a new device called ‘Hydroinfiltrator Rainwater Harvesting System (HRHS) on the water balance of soils. It was designed for arid and semi-arid zones affected by long periods of drought punctuated by heavy rainstorms. The new hydroinfiltrator consists of a net-like shell filled mainly with biochar. It is cylindrical in shape, is placed vertically and is half-buried in the soil around the crop tree to facilitate the infiltration of rainwater, irrigation or runoff water deep into the soil. The experimental plot is located in Baena (Córdoba, southern Spain) in an olive grove where the hydroinfiltrator was installed in 90 olive trees while 10 were left as a control group. In the xeric climate (bordering on arid), typical of the region, soils without a hydroinfiltrator have had a low infiltration rate, which reduces the effectiveness of precipitation and significantly increases the risk of water erosion. The effects of infiltration assisted by the device were analysed by simulating a torrential rain in which 600 L of water were passed through the hydroinfiltrator on an olive tree which had been installed 3 years previously. Geophysical methods (electrical resistivity tomography, ERT), direct analyses of soil samples, both in situ and in the laboratory, and theoretical flow models indicated a very significant increase in soil moisture (which nearly tripled in respect to the control group) because water was absorbed into the soil
quickly, preventing runoff and water erosion. The soil moisture at 20 cm depth was 2.97 times higher with the HRHS than in the control plots. In addition, olive production increased by 211% and was higher in fat yield by 177%. Moreover, the resistivity profiles, taken by ERT showed that the water that entered the soil accumulated in the root zone of the olive tree, encouraged by the preferential pathways created by the roots and away from the surface, which prevented rapid evaporation during the high temperatures of spring and summer. Here we show for the first time that the use of the hydroinfiltrator rainwater harvesting system represents a significant improvement in the use of scarce water resources caused by climate change, providing agronomic and environmental benefits for rainfed, Mediterranean agricultural systems.
... The roots of olive trees are adapted to the Mediterranean climate and tend to distribute themselves in the shallow part of the soil to make better use of the scarce and at times, torrential rainfall, and nutrients derived from the decomposition by microorganisms of the plant debris (twigs and leaves) that fall on the surface (Deng et al., 2017). The highest root densities are in the first 60 cm of the soil with the majority in the top layers, usually within the first 40 cm (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011;Deng et al., 2017). In the distribution of the different levels of the olive tree roots, Sorgonà et al. (2018) found a maximum between 45 and 60 cm for the roots of the first order, another between 30 and 45 cm for those of the second order, while those of the third order were very close to the surface of the soil (0-15 cm). ...
... In the distribution of the different levels of the olive tree roots, Sorgonà et al. (2018) found a maximum between 45 and 60 cm for the roots of the first order, another between 30 and 45 cm for those of the second order, while those of the third order were very close to the surface of the soil (0-15 cm). Most of the roots of the olive tree are located under the tree crown (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011), as the olive tree establishes a balance between the roots and the crown. The further we move away from the canopy area, the lower the root density becomes. ...
... The emergence of preferential pathways is mainly due to two processes. The first is that during periods of water deficit, the mortality of fine roots increases, even in irrigated olive trees (Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011). These dead roots form biopores connected to the rest of the olive tree's roots through which water can circulate. ...
Dry periods in semi-arid regions constitute one of the greatest hazardous features that agriculture faces. This study investigates the effects of using a new device called ‘Hydroinfiltrator Rainwater Harvesting System (HRHS) on the water balance of soils. It was designed for arid and semi-arid zones affected by long periods of drought punctuated by heavy rainstorms. The new hydroinfiltrator consists of a net-like shell filled mainly with biochar. It is cylindrical in shape, is placed vertically and is half-buried in the soil around the crop tree to facilitate the infiltration of rainwater, irrigation or runoff water deep into the soil. The experimental plot is located in Baena (Córdoba, southern Spain) in an olive grove where the hydroinfiltrator was installed in 90 olive trees while 10 were left as a control group. In the xeric climate (bordering on arid), typical of the region, soils without a hydroinfiltrator have had a low infiltration rate, which reduces the effectiveness of precipitation and significantly increases the risk of water erosion. The effects of infiltration assisted by the device were analysed by simulating a torrential rain in which 600 L of water were passed through the hydroinfiltrator on an olive tree which had been installed 3 years previously. Geophysical methods (electrical resistivity tomography, ERT), direct analyses of soil samples, both in situ and in the laboratory, and theoretical flow models indicated a very significant increase in soil moisture (which nearly tripled in respect to the control group) because water was absorbed into the soil quickly, preventing runoff and water erosion. The soil moisture at 20 cm depth was 2.97 times higher with the HRHS than in the control plots. In addition, olive production increased by 211% and was higher in fat yield by 177%. Moreover, the resistivity profiles, taken by ERT showed that the water that entered the soil accumulated in the root zone of the olive tree, encouraged by the preferential pathways created by the roots and away from the surface, which prevented rapid evaporation during the high temperatures of spring and summer. Here we show for the first time that the use of the hydroinfiltrator rainwater harvesting system represents a significant improvement in the use of scarce water resources caused by climate change, providing agronomic and environmental benefits for rainfed, Mediterranean agricultural systems.
... We estimated a depth-equivalent of the rhizospheres of 14 mm from the soil depth (less 10% accounting for rock content), and assuming a ratio of 0.09 between the two depths. This ratio was estimated considering a root length density of 0.5 cm/cm 3 (olive trees; Masmoudi-Charfi et al., 2011), multiplied by rhizosphere cross sectional area of a root of mean diameter of 1 mm and a rhizosphere extension of 2 mm (Carminati et al., 2010;Kuzyakov and Razavi, 2019). ...
Trees typically survive prolonged droughts by absorbing water from deeper layers. Where soils are shallow, roots may be extract water from the underlying fractured bedrocks. In dry seasons, surface-soil moisture dynamics reflect hydraulic redistribution (HR). HR is usually estimated based on the gradient of mean, or bulk, soil water potential among layers in the rooting zone (HRB). This approach neglects the potential effect of spatial heterogeneity of water content at the millimeter scale between the rhizosphere and bulk soil. We proposed to account for the rhizosphere water balance, estimating HR to the rhizosphere (HRR) of the dry surface soil from the underlying fractured rock. The model was evaluated using a 15-year dataset collected in Sardinia. When the typical approach, based on moisture gradients among bulk soil layers, was used for estimating HRB, tree transpiration was underpredicted in all seasons, especially in spring and summer. Forcing the model with measured tree transpiration, HRB decreased during spring and summer, while the contribution of the underlying rock layer to tree transpiration was threefold that estimated using HRR-based model. The average water content of the bulk surface soil layer was very low, reaching 0.06 in the driest summers while showing little diurnal dynamics; however, concentrating water in roughly estimated rhizosphere volume, produced rhizosphere water content appreciably higher (≈0.16), and much more dynamic. Predicted HRR dominated evapotranspiration (60% - 65%) in dry springs and summers reaching 80% of tree transpiration. Most importantly, the proposed rhizosphere-HR model correctly predicts the diurnal dynamics of tree transpiration year-round, and the grass transpiration in its active spring period. Eco-hydrological models operating at sub-daily scale should consider partitioning the soil to rhizosphere volume, thus allowing both diagnostic and prognostic estimates of diurnal biosphere-atmosphere mass and energy exchanges.
... It is reasonable that the SR-SOC should not be measured only superficially because deeper roots can be found at lower depths [85] and because the management practices and land use can affect the SOC in depth [86]. Some studies show that, by six years of age, olive trees develop roots with a 1 m depth and maximum diameters of 27 mm, covering areas of 13.8 m 2 per tree [87]. In this sense, when measuring the SOC sequestration, stock, and loss, it is necessary to integrate all the SOC in the root zone (1 or 2 m deep) [85]. ...
The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.
